Widow of man found in cornfield feared worst: A relapse

Updated 6:19 am, Friday, July 25, 2014

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Photo: Courtesy Photo.

Image 2 of 16

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Photo: Courtesy Photo.

Image 3 of 16

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Photo: Courtesy Photo.

Image 4 of 16

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Photo: Courtesy Photo.

Image 5 of 16

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said

Photo: Courtesy Photo.

Image 6 of 16

Police and emergency personnel attend a scene Monday July 21, 2014 at 8219 Somerset Road where the body of a man was found near a corn field inside of a white sedan. The body was decomposed, but police were able to identify the man based on information found in the car. less

Police and emergency personnel attend a scene Monday July 21, 2014 at 8219 Somerset Road where the body of a man was found near a corn field inside of a white sedan. The body was decomposed, but police were ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News

Image 7 of 16

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said.

Alejandro Delao, whose remains were found in a cornfield this week, was trying to overcome his past, familiy members said.

Photo: Courtesy /

Image 8 of 16

Police and emergency personnel attend a scene Monday July 21, 2014 at 8219 Somerset Road where the body of a man was found near a corn field inside of a white sedan. The body was decomposed, but police were able to identify the man based on information found in the car. less

Police and emergency personnel attend a scene Monday July 21, 2014 at 8219 Somerset Road where the body of a man was found near a corn field inside of a white sedan. The body was decomposed, but police were ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, San Antonio Express-News

Image 9 of 16

San Antonio police are investigating a dead body found in a cornfield on Somerset Road.

San Antonio police are investigating a dead body found in a cornfield on Somerset Road.

Image 10 of 16

In recent months, Alejandro Delao was trying to do all the right things, his wife says

In recent months, Alejandro Delao was trying to do all the right things, his wife says

Image 11 of 16

Image 12 of 16

The San Antonio Police Department helicopter, The Eagle, arrives at the scene where a dead body was found Monday, July 21, 2014.

The San Antonio Police Department helicopter, The Eagle, arrives at the scene where a dead body was found Monday, July 21, 2014.

Image 13 of 16

San Antonio police investigate a body that was found inside a car found in a cornfield on Somerset Road on Monday, July 21, 2014.

San Antonio police investigate a body that was found inside a car found in a cornfield on Somerset Road on Monday, July 21, 2014.

Image 14 of 16

The cornfield is in the 8200 block of Somerset Road in Southwest San Antonio. Authorities are investigating a body found in a car in the cornfield.

The cornfield is in the 8200 block of Somerset Road in Southwest San Antonio. Authorities are investigating a body found in a car in the cornfield.

Image 15 of 16

The owner of the field in the 8200 block of Somerset Road called police around 9 a.m. Monday, July 21, 2014, to report the discovery of a dead body.

The owner of the field in the 8200 block of Somerset Road called police around 9 a.m. Monday, July 21, 2014, to report the discovery of a dead body.

Image 16 of 16

Widow of man found in cornfield feared worst: A relapse

1 / 16

Back to Gallery

SAN ANTONIO — Alejandro Delao had occasionally spent nights away from home before. His heroin addiction, which his loved ones thought he had overcome in recent months, was sometimes to blame.

This time, though, something seemed different, his widow said this week, days after his body was found in a Southwest Side cornfield a mile from their home.

Delao, 32, had gone to drop off his stepdaughter at work Saturday morning, saying he would be back in 20 minutes. Then he stopped answering his phone. Two days passed.

“I'm thinking the worst,” said Gudelia Delao, 38. “I'm thinking he's relapsed, he's gone back to old ways. ... When he didn't show up for work Monday morning, that's when I knew something was wrong.”

She reported her husband missing Monday, around the same time his badly decomposed body was found in the back seat of his Toyota Camry in the cornfield.

Authorities believe Delao had been dead for at least a day, but the property owner said the car had appeared in the field within hours of its discovery.

Police said his body was too far decomposed for a cause of death to be immediately obvious. They are investigating it as a homicide.

Most Popular

A needle found in Delao's pocket prompted authorities to tell his wife that he might have died of an overdose, but she didn't believe that, she said. His money and phone were gone from the car, she said.

Delao had been in and out of jail on charges of theft and burglary of a vehicle — offenses he committed for drug money, his wife said. But since his release from prison in March, he made his best effort yet, his wife said.

“These last four months, it was just so amazing,” Gudelia Delao said. “It was just work, church and home. ... He was just doing everything he had to do.”

Gudelia and Alejandro Delao had an 8-year-old daughter together. Gudelia Delao said her husband was also a good father to her teenage daughter and son.

Alejandro Delao worked as a truck driver for a construction company on Old Corpus Christi Highway in Southeast Bexar County. The business is near where the body of Steve Rendon, 19, was found in a cornfield and where Xavier Joseph Cordero, 20, was found in a pasture.

Those bodies were found about a month ago, within a week of each other. Cameo Marcus Clines and Antoinette Martinez, both 19, were charged with capital murder in both deaths. They have been in Bexar County Jail since July 1.

“We wouldn't rule anything out at this point,” said Sgt. Javier Salazar, a San Antonio Police Department spokesman. “We would welcome any information from the public that might be able to shed some light on who did it and a possible motive.”

Alejandro Delao's family has set up a memorial fund at First National Bank. Donations can be directed to account No. 443326707.